Someone To Stand By Me
by StarrySea
Summary: 7-year-old Annabeth's last day at home before she runs away. And that hammer...
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: hey! For some reason I felt the need to put an author's note here…. So yeah! School just started, which is annoying in and of itself without the masses of math homework…. Anyway: on to the story! Please please review! I own nothing, blah blah blah…. Oh, by the way happy 2012 (_Mark Of Athena_!) ;D Now the story…. Enjoy!**

The grey clouds painted the Virginia sky a dull colour and began to let their cold heavy raindrops fall toward earth.

Annabeth stood outside staring up at the clouds, letting the rain slip down the sides of her face like tears. The cold didn't bother her, it was almost better than the warmth of the house. Because the rain wouldn't reject her, or blame her. She took a step off of the porch and put her bare feet in the wet grass. It was just plain rain, no thunder or lightning nothing scary or spectacular. Her stepmother would be mad that she was wet, but it didn't matter. And her father would still be embarrassed or angry about the monster from the previous week. Whatever the emotion was that made him look at her accusingly, like the problems of the world were her fault, caused by the flecks of golden ichor coursing through her veins. She brushed a water-drop from her eyelashes. The rain poured down even harder, plastering her blonde curls to her face.

"Annabeth Chase!" She turned to see her father standing in the doorway, giving her that look. "Get inside! You're going to get sick!"

"I am not going to get sick." she muttered, but came toward the door.

"Go dry yourself off, and try not to get the floor wet." He went off toward his study.

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><p>The little, wet girl trudged up the stairs as quietly as she could, as to not attract attention from her step mother.<p>

She sat on the edge of her bed, wrapped in a blanket staring at the floor tracing whorls in the rug with her toes.

Her mind was chasing stray thoughts, designing, making things better. The rain tapped on the window sill like impatient fingers, wanting a decision.

But one thought insisted on returning. It was the dragon. The dragon kept returning, it was small but it had fiery breath and had nearly demolished the house, and had probably totalled the car. With the dragon came her stepmother scooping her mortal toddler off the ground and shaking her head at Annabeth as if she had summoned the creature so she had to send if away. With the dragon came her fathers voice muttering

_'Why couldn't your mother have kept you and raised you on Olympus.'_

_'Daddy?'_

_'Go to your room Annabeth.' And then he turns, turns away._

He didn't want me. Didn't. Doesn't. Won't_._

She walked to the window, and pressed her hand to the foggy glass. The pane was cold against her skin.

She heard someone calling from downstairs, but didn't turn. She rubbed the glass clear, and stared out into the neighbourhood.

"Annabeth! Its time for dinner, didn't you hear me?" it was her step mother. She was actually surprise that the woman had bothered to make the trip up the stairs for her.

"No, I didn't," she replied absently. "I'm coming."

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><p>Annabeth's dad flipped off her light and pulled her door shut. "Goodnight, Annabeth."<p>

She lay still, listening to her stepmother tuck in her precious child after reading him a bedtime story. Something Annabeth had never been privileged enough to attain. Then the light in the hall went out and the door to her fathers room clicked shut.

She lay still in the dark and waited, after a careful count to thirty, she stood in the darkness and went to the door. Her fingers closed around the knob and she pulled it open. With bare feet she crept down the stairs and through the dark house.

The closet door creaked when she pulled it open, she looked up at the second shelf, just out of her reach, on it lay a hammer and some screwdrivers farther back. Annabeth balanced on her tip-toes, her finger tips brushed the handle of the hammer. She pulled it forward and almost had it, when it fell from the shelf and crashed to the floor. She winced and froze. She bent down and picked the hammer up from the floor, and carefully guided the closet door closed. she headed back toward the living room.

Then she heard it. Footsteps upstairs and her father's voice. She panicked and stuffed the tool into her stepmothers flower vase. She started up the stairs hoping that when he saw her he wouldn't go all the way down.

Fredrick swung his flashlight as he started down the stairs and the beam fell on Annabeth.

"Annabeth! For gods sakes what are you doing up!"

"Getting a drink of water," She said quickly, _please buy it _she prayed silently.

"Go to bed! And do not get up in the middle of the night _ever again."_

She nodded and continued up the stairs, he turned and went back across the hall, sighing in exasperation. She stood inside her door waiting, cursing herself for being so clumsy. She waited for what seemed like an eternity in the dark.

Annabeth took a deep breath and slipped back into the hall. This time she wasn't coming back. Scarcely breathing, she descended the stairs and pulled the hammer from the vase. She twisted the locks on the door and walked outside into the dark and damp night.

She made her way down the walk and stopped at the street to look back. She looked at the dark windows, _You don't want me, now you can't have me_.

Then looked up at the mist shrouded light of the full moon and whispered a prayer, _mom, please give me friends. Someone to stand by me._

Then she turned and walked alone down the street.

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	2. Chapter 2

Annabeth sat down in the alleyway. Her eyelids drooping. It was very late and dark, the slighly clouded moon cast sinkster shadows on the road between the buildings. She yawned and shivered, wondering why she hadn't brought blankets or a jacket. She didn't want to keep going right now, but she was under no circumstances going back.

This was the end. The last night. Last song. Curtain call. No more.

Annabeth dragged herself up and continued. She made it another block when she couldn't go any longer. She curled up in doorway of a building and fell asleep.

She dreamed of her last day at school.

In "circle time" the teacher asked every child what they wanted to be when they grew up. There were lots of mothers and teachers and artists, when the teacher reached her she simply replied:

_"An architect."_

The teacher smiled, the cheerful fake one that she gave when she didn't have words to fit the situation.

The other children just giggled, they probably didn't even know what the word meant, but they knew that she was different from all of them.

Her face turned red and she stared at the carpet until they had to go back to their tables. Different was a bad thing, that's just how it was. But that was her life.

She was Annabeth Chase, the child of a goddess, and she would _always_ be different.

She woke to more rain. But these fell with malice, pounding on the rooftops and stinging her face. This time there was thunder, and the occasional flash of lightning. Between the rumblings, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. Monsters.

She started to run.

She came to an intersection and realised that her chances were slim. Glancing over her shoulder she caught a glimpse of the monsters: giants, two of them at least eight feet tall barreling down the road. She could run until she was winded, then make a stand, or make a stand now, and give up hope of getting away.

Annabeth decided to run.

In the early morning there wasn't much traffic, which was a good thing because she didn't stop look or listen, as she had heard a hundred times in school. On the other side of the street she ran into a man who was waiting to catch a bus.

"I'm sorry." She muttered and tried to keep running.

The man gripped her shoulder, "Where are your parents?" He asked.

"I ran away from them. They didn't want me."

"That's nonsense, we have to get you back to your house. Your parents will be worried. Do you know where you live?"

"I don't want to go back."

"Sweetie, you have to go home. Come on,"

She shrugged off one of his hands and hit the other with her hammer.

Even as she ran she knew the giants were gaining on her. The '_helpfu_l' mortal's untimely interruption had nearly cost her her life.

It was no more than 10 feet behind her now. Nearly grinning with glee for the chase was about to be over. She didn't see the pothole until her sneaker snagged on it and she was lying face up just so she could watch the faster of the two kill her

It loomed over her, and raised its massive fist. She suspected it didn't even have a weapon, its hands were all it needed to take down prey.

Annabeth closed her eyes and braced herself. She was suddenly filled with strength like an adrenaline rush. She jumped up and smacked the thing in the face with her hammer.

It wailed and staggered backwards. She took the opening and ran.

On and on into the grey.

**So this story was going to be a one shot but you know… either way this chap was pretty bad… *nervous face* should I keep going until she meets up with Thalia and Luke? **

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	3. Chapter 3

Annabeth's hair hung down in her face, grimy from the fall, the running and the rain. Her lungs heaved, her heart pounded and her brain still ran on. She reached a dead end.

RICHMOND IRON WORKS

The looming building was a red brick warehouse, with an alley between it and the next building that seemed to serve as a loading dock. She went into the alley way along side and crept forward. There was a tin curtain a few yards in front of her, cutting her off from the rest of the alley. Her footsteps rattled the crated and pallets when she wasn't tip-toeing, giving her the illusion that she wasn't alone. She heard whispers, so clear she was sure it wasn't just her hyperactive brain playing tricks on her. The seven-year-old hefted her hammer

The curtain quivered again, and then was torn away.

Annabeth flew forward, and swung the hammer. There was a boy, he was tall and had blonde hair; he caught her by the wrist and the hammer fell out of her hand.

There was a girl, with black hair, who held a shield emblazoned with a monstrous face. Annabeth fought and kicked him, trying to get away from these people, who were no doubt another volley of disguised monsters.

"_No more monsters! Go away!"_ She shouted.

"_It's okay!"_ The boy said, trying to keep her from escaping his grip. _"Thalia, you're scaring her. Put your shield up."_

The girl tapped the shield and it shrank into silver chains on her wrist. _"Hey, it's alright, we're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke."_

"_Monsters!_" Annabeth insisted, still fighting to get away.

"_No, but we know all about monsters,"_ Luke said. _"We fight them too_."

Annabeth stopped fighting, long enough to analyze them. Were these strangers telling the truth? _"You're like me?"_

"_Yeah, we're… well it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"_

"_My family hates me. They don't want me. I ran away."_

The boy and girl locked eyes and seemed to come to a silent agreement.

"_What's your name, kiddo?"_ Thalia asked.

"_Annabeth."_

Luke's words still rang in her head.

"_You're part of our family now. And I promise that I won't let anyone hurt you. I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"_

"Deal," Annabeth whispered, turning the knife over in her fingers. He was gone, the promises broken, the feelings spent, the time wasted.

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><p>"<em>Annabeth, run away with me. It can be just us, just like old times. This is my last chance."<em>

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><p>"<em>Spare the girl, I would wish to speak to her before… before our great victory."<em>

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><p>"<em>Did you love me?"<em>

"No,"

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><p>"<em>That's Luke, he's dead now."<em>

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><p><strong>That's a bit of a melancholy end isn't it… so pretty much everything in italics is a Rick Riordan quote, don't own it. Don't want to.<strong>

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